Man Utd 3 Villa 1 Anyone who expected Villa to lose were not disappointed as two goals in a minute put paid to any hopes of a shock in the Theatre of Dreams. Old Trafford has been the stuff of nightmares for those of the claret and blue persuasion but for 16 fleeting minutes Villa dared to think the unthinkable after Gareth Barry netted the first goal Manchester United have conceded in 817 minutes of play. He may have succeeded where Bolton, Middlesbrough, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool and Exeter had failed over the past month but it was the worst thing he could have done as up until then United were more than happy strolling along at 1-0 courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldos eighth-minute strike. All Barry succeeded in doing was to force United to slip, temporarily, out of second gear to get the victory all had anticipated with goals from Louis Saha and Paul Scholes, which earned the wrath of Villa boss David OLeary. I thought we got ourselves back in the game but then we had a mad five or 10 minutes of overplay, said OLeary. We got done for the second goal and you cant legislate for the third goal. You cant afford to do that at Old Trafford. What had been a contest for only a quarter of an hour was reduced to little more than practice match. It was job done for United. As for Villa, they must surely wish the season was about to end now as they have nothing really to play for. Three months of going through the motions is hardly going to thrill the patrons of the Holte End, with Villa ready to lock the wallet up until the summer as theres little point in spending on a team going nowhere. Its a sorry state of affairs, but it is a price Villa are going to have to pay for the apparent lack of ambition that has seen the club slip behind the big clubs of Everton and Spurs. And events off the pitch are easily matching the dourness on it. Villa may not have won here for 22 years and United may well be on a run of form having no lost in the Premiership since the end of October, but this is not the United of old. Roy Keane is not the powerhouse he once was, while Uniteds starting lineup was bereft of the injured Ruud van Nistelrooy and Alan Smith, while Ryan Giggs was on the bench. They are not a soft touch, but even given Villas atrocious away record there was still an opportunity to grab United by the scruff of the neck. But one look at the Villa line-up and that notion hardly sprang to mind as Olearys intentions were obvious with the goal-shy Carlton Cole stuck on the bench in place of Steven Davis, who just bolstered the midfield. It was a change that was hardly going to enhance Juan Pablo Angels attempt to break his Premiership duck against a defence that chalked up a recordbreaking eighth clean sheet in the FA Cup win over Exeter, but OLeary believed it could. I come here in a positive way, he said. A lot of the belief Ive gained is from watching United play. I dont come with a defeatist attitude but I do realistically look at the league programme and not put down any points for Old Trafford. OLeary had put his faith in the counter-attack but that notion was ruined by the fact that Villas numerical midfield advantage hardly told with Uniteds engine room showing much more oomph in a less than inspiring opening 45 minutes. It also wasnt helped by the fact they committed the cardinal sin of conceding an early goal, when Saha laid the ball on a plate for the unmarked Ronaldo to fire past a helpless Thomas Sorensen. Injury-hit Villa then suffered more bad luck when Mark Delaney hobbled off with knee ligament damage. It didnt upset their rhythm, mainly because they hadnt established one, although on 15 minutes they did force Roy Carroll into a save when Nobby Solano hit a well-struck shot following a short-corner with Barry. Barry also delivered a sweet cross for Angel shortly afterwards but the Colombians lack of confidence in front of goal was evident as he planted the header straight at Carroll when he had time to pick his spot. He wasnt alone as Rooney and Ronaldo both wasted good chances to extend Uniteds lead before the break --the England striker did likewise immediately after the restart as he displayed control that would have embarrassed a pub player. But their failure allowed Villa, rejuvenated by the introduction of Thomas Hitzlsperger for the ineffective Mathieu Berson, to draw level. The German had already stung Carrolls hands then he was suddenly having to remember how to pick the ball out the back of the net when Barry superbly tucked home after being fed by Solano. The impetus inspired Villa, with the midfield suddenly running the show, hbut their was no end product. And Villa paid the price when United stepped up a gear to reclaim the lead when Liam Ridgewells clearance was fed to Rooney, who teed up Saha to tuck the ball past Sorensen on 69 minutes. Any thoughts of a second Villa comeback were instantly destroyed when United immediately gained possession and Scholes headed home after Sorensen could only parry Ronaldos long-range effort. STAR MAN: Olof Mellberg | 
